All Bluffton Icon News

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ABOVE) Dennis Lee in 2000 with the girls Varsity Basketball page spread from the Buccaneer yearbook.The yearbook is online at BHS Wall of Fame

By Bill Herr

In my opinion, one of the greatest ever coaches in any sport at Bluffton High School is Mr. Dennis Lee. Coach Lee's parents were Gene and Sue Lee. His father was a full time farmer and his mother worked at a hospital. Dennis and his wife Cindy have two children, Matthew and Andrew.

Dennis grew up helping with all the things that go on at a farm: baling hay and straw, milking a dairy herd, chores. I am a farmer and also taught at BHS. When we would eat together, we would talk farming. When we met for my interview with him for this column, it was a wet, cool summer morning. The first thing he said to me was, "Not a good day for corn to grow, is it?"

Coach Lee's siblings have been or are still involved in coaching. Mike was principal and basketball coach at Minster, and is now boys' basketball coach at Pandora High School. Greg coached boys' basketball at Value and has been an official. Now he runs the golf course at Arlington. Kathy was the women's basketball coach at Adrian College in Michigan. ▶︎

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Santa and the Bluffton Fire Department are coming to visit the library! Register now for the event on Tue., Dec. 10 at 6:00 p.m. This is a FREE event filled with reading, stories, and crafts. Register online, at the library front desk, or by calling 419-358-5016 by December 9. Space is limited.

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Guy "Gene" E. Miller, 85, passed away November 23, 2024, at the Mennonite Memorial Home.

Guy "Gene" was born December 24, 1938 in Lima to LeRoy and Viola (Burden) Miller who preceded him in death. On November 22, 1985 he married Sharon (Thompson) Miller and she survives.  

Gene was a member of the Lima Baptist Temple and retired from the Dana Corporation after 30 years of dedication. He could always be found tinkering and enjoyed attending auctions.  

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Catch the livestream: http://SpectrumNewsApp.com and http://OHSAA.tv

On Friday, November 29, Bluffton Football is heading to Wapakoneta to face the Coldwater Cavaliers in the State Semi-Final.

Bluffton will be the visiting team; spectators should sit in the visitor bleachers.

Location: Mercy Health/Wapak Ford Field 400 W. Harrison St., Wapakoneta, OH 45895

Gates Open: 5:30 p.m.

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.

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Bluffton Lions newsletter is attached HERE.

The Bluffton Lions will install four new members in February 2025: Laura Dagani, Brigette Hoff, Scott Hoff and Renee Matthews. The next Lions Club meeting is January 7.

LEO CLUB
Lion Natalie Armstrong is starting a Leo Club.

ALL-INCLUSIVE BLUFFTON LIONS PLAYGROUND
The Bluffton Lions are planning to build an all-Inclusive playground at the new Village park being developed on the north side of Snider Rd. Lion Barbara Plaugher showed a power-point on a LCIF (Lions Club International Foundation) matching grant of up to $150K.

PEACE POSTER COMPETITION
Three Peace Poster winners and their teacher provided information on their art projects. This is a world-wide project for students ages 11 through 13.

The theme this year was “Peace Without Limits”. For 30 years clubs around the world have been sponsoring an art contest in schools and youth groups. Creating peace posters gives children the chance to express their vision of peace. ▶︎

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PHOTOS from Trevor Bassitt. Click on photos to enlarge and view at your own pace.

Olympic athlete Trevor Bassitt, 26, Team USA Track & Field and 5x World Medalist, competed in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in the 2024 summer Olympics. See Icon coverage of his Olympic races HERE.

By Benji Bergstrand

When Trevor Bassitt arrived in France to compete in his first ever Olympic games there wasn’t much time for contemplation or reflection on his journey from competing for the Bluffton Pirates in the Northwest Conference to competing for Team USA on the world’s biggest stage. He was running late. “Touching down in Paris was a little hectic. Because of flight delays I had to get to the Olympic Village, drop my stuff off and go straight to practice,” Bassitt said. And then there were Trevor’s evening plans. “After practice I had a bit of time to get organized before the Opening Ceremonies.”

Even getting to the Opening Ceremony involved delays. All of the athletes had to gather in the lobby of the Team USA building in the Olympic Village in order to board shuttles that would take them to the docks where the team boat was waiting, a process that took two hours.

The waiting didn’t end there.  “We had to stand on the boat for a long time because we were the 2nd to last country to go since we are the host of the 2028 Olympics,” Bassitt said. “We passed time walking around the boat and getting to talk with other athletes.” ▶︎

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